chicken-tuna

Is it animal cruelty when you watch your two oscars tear apart a grasshopper or two. my fiancee's sister gave me the whole animal cruelty thing when she saw the video of my oscars eating grasshoppers that i pick up around the yard. she also rambled on about the way my two chocolates charge at each other alot. whats your guys opinion?

pinkfloydpuffer

I think with insects it's personal opinion. But if you take on an insect, fish, or any animal on as a pet, then I think it's definitely cruel to do anything to them. I think this is basically the same argument as whether feeding your livebearer fry to other fish is cruel, and other such arguments.

MissMTS

I don't think it is animal cruelty. I think that it is natural. Some animals are preditors. It is not cruelty to let them hunt for their prey.

sirdarksol

My opinion is this:
It depends on why you do it.
If you're feeding your oscars live grasshoppers/crickets because you want to give them a chance to hunt, which many feel may lower an animal's stress in the long run, and to give them live food, which many feel is more healthy for an animal, then that's fine.

If you're just feeding them grasshoppers/crickets to watch them tear the insects apart, and couldn't care less what the oscars eat, then I'd call that cruelty. It happens to be cruelty that's good for the oscar, but it's still cruelty.

kieley

its a bug i stomp on bugs all the time and kill mosquitos too! insects dont have nociceptors ( which is something all vertebrates have specifically to feel pain) and therefore cannot feel pain.. so if that makes you feel any better?

JakeTeque

Very well put sirdarksol.

I was just going to say that animals all over the world (including humans) hunt and eat other animals. It's their instinct, and natural. A lion is equipped to hunt and kill it's food - it has sharp teeth made for ripping apart flesh. Therefore with and pet, feeding them what they eat in the wild is not cruelty at all. However feeding your pet something that is not in their habitat, but that your pet WOULD eat anyway, is cruelty.

When I got into tropical fish I was curious about Piranahs, so I watched some youtube videos. There is a lot of messed up things owners do with their Piranahs for entertainment. Feeding your 10 Piranahs a Green Terror Cichlid is not natural, and cruel.

TheJimsterness

Yes it is absolutely animal cruelty. Report your oscar to the authorities, and have it brought to justice. If found guilty, it will sentenced to five years in a goldfish bowl. With other convicts. Get it? lol


but seriously it isn't cruel because its natural. If you pulled them apart for amusement, it would be cruel. Also, it's a grasshopper, it's not like it won't end up eaten by SOMETHING at some point.

angelfish220

OSCARS CONVICTS thats great!!!